EV/ICE tipping point reached?

[MikkiJayne]

Small Modular Reactor power plants - massive energy density compared to solar or wind, and you can set them up in a shipping container. There are designs of these which can use 'spent' fuel from other types of reactor too. We're all going to need a bunch of these distributed around the place to handle the new load that EVs will create.

[ainarssems]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Small Modular Reactor power plants - massive energy density compared to solar or wind, and you can set them up in a shipping container. There are designs of these which can use 'spent' fuel from other types of reactor too. We're all going to need a bunch of these distributed around the place to handle the new load that EVs will create.

Just need to scale them down to fit as fuel cell in the car, no need to refuel gor life of car and when you are not driving plug it in and sell electricity to the grid

[27litres]

Originally Posted by ainarssems

Just need to scale them down to fit as fuel cell in the car, no need to refuel gor life of car and when you are not driving plug it in and sell electricity to the grid

That sounds like a 50's idea!
Make them like one of the retro futuristic cars from "Fallout"


Also, as most Solar Panel roof installations and EVs produce 240V (or 110V to our American friends) when plugged into a domestic supply, that power will only supplement to the local grid of what 5-10 sq km before hitting the brick wall of the step down transformer, unless they can step-up (I'm not aware of this being a feature of the national grid)?
The smarter move is to use solar to take yourself off-grid.


Autonomous vehicles are a long way off too.
In all likelihood they may get to level 4 (Tesla's and Mercs are currently level 2.5) and get partial endorsement for Motorways and main (A) roads, maybe secondary (B) roads that are well marked.
The chances of them ever being endorsed to navigate through estates, laneways and hedgerows are very low.

Tesla autopilot is a camera and software system, I don't think it even uses infrared, so just how good is it at detecting living things hiding behind bushes or parked/stopped cars? Most experts say level 4 and above cannot be achieved without Lidar or similar technology.

[ThisWayUp]

In some ways I can see the appeal of an EV to handle all my local journeys. It's got a nice logic to it, but as mentioned before EV's are pretty expensive.

The charging infra stucture needs something like what Virgin Media did with fibre optic cabling, but again the national grid is the weak spot, and while we've made big strides in bringing wind power etc in, our existing nuclear power stations are very aged, and not long for this world in terms of producing.

I can only imagine supporters of bannishing ICE's are going to be quite disappointed when the dates for banning sales get pushed out. Politicians by the nature of our system struggle with these long term goals.

[Audifan]

I this this completely stupid that we are having EV being forced upon us!!! Here in America we don't have the infrastructure for this. Also another stupid thing about this is if you want to drive any long distance your going to have to find out where the public charging stations are and good luck trying to find them as they are very few. As far as I know here in my hometown, there is only one public charging station.

Let's say your a family and you bought a EV SUV (as this country is so much in love with SUV) and want to take a cross country road trip for your vacation. You're going to have to figure out where all the public charging stations are and it will be time consuming as there isn't many of them. Also your going to waste tons of time waiting every time you have to stop and recharge. How long does it take to fully change your EV, one hour?

Another problem will be is what to do with all the dead batteries. Interesting article I found about this.

I really think we need to focus on a different solution other then EV.

[roberto]

its not going to happen anytime soon

ooh i live in a flat 4 storys up (were is my charging point?)

(vandalism) ooh look this guy is charging his car overnight on the street,,lets nick his cable and weigh it in !

Dead Batteries ? that point is scarey

ive been watching how many diesels are about its a LOT
we will need 184,000 scrap yards to recycle them (but into what)

its not going to happen anytime soon

anybody who thinks the UK is poluted take a trip to Manila
we are super/super clean compaired to that place (yes ive been)

Aeroplanes are the biggest poluters and are in an ideal place to deposit into the ozone (cheers captain)

[steamship]

Originally Posted by roberto

ooh i live in a flat 4 storys up (were is my charging point?)

(vandalism) ooh look this guy is charging his car overnight on the street,,lets nick his cable and weigh it in !

I'm glad someone else has the same thoughts about these two issues. Even those living in a house with on-street parking are going to be faced with the prospect of lengthy cables (heaven help Roberto get that cable four storeys up), and then you have all the pedestrians who then have to take on skipping down the street to avoid the cables.

As for vandalism, I believe the cables are 'locked' in whilst charging, but that isn't going to stop any vandals, whether they just want to disconnect the cable for a bit of fun or want to nick the cable, as I don't see them worrying about damaging the vehicle in the process.

[27litres]

Originally Posted by roberto

Aeroplanes are the biggest poluters and are in an ideal place to deposit into the ozone (cheers captain)

Greenhouse gas emissions (Carbon) and Ozone depleting chemicals aren't generally linked.
Although airliners are linked with some ozone damage, it is considered trivial.
But airliners are massive polluters. The problem with aircraft is that it's more important that they run safely and reliably than cleanly. AvGas (plane petrol) still has lead in it to boost octane, reduce pinging and protect valve seats for instance.

The problem with the car is twofold:
1. its visible
2. It's privately owned by individuals.

It's easy to pass costs into the private sector. Where large public expenditure is required, governments baulk.

Governments around the world have spent decades convincing the average punter that car pollution is a massive issue. And it sort of is, but not to the proportion they would like you to believe. In Australia the latest stats stated that Transport creates 18% of the Australia's total carbon emissions. That's all transport, so Trains, Planes, and Road Transport (I'm not sure if it included Ships). Road transport was about 9% in total. Now this proportion could vary quite a bit in regions with cleaner power grids, as power is a major polluter (we have mostly coal, some hydro, slowly increasing solar, but no nuclear)

Now where road transport is bad is in air pollution in and around our cities, so it's very visible. In this aspect EVs excel (even if their pure green credentials are a bit over stated!).

Personally I like Toyota's approach. Go against convention and go hydrogen fuel cells! Provided the hydrogen comes from clean sources (ie solar electrolysis, not hydrocarbon steaming), fuel cells **** all over lithium batteries for being clean.

[Audifan]

There are a lot of other massive polluters like recreational boats, ATVs, motorcycles, lawnmowers, farm equipment, etc.

[roberto]

the amount of lorries on the road at one time (is that possible to know?)
all doing 10mpg
now my friend Ben and his dad work in construction
they both drive Massive Dumpers (the ones with 10 feet high tyres)
what will replace that sort of Diesel engine vehicle?

there are many poorer people out there who buy £2000 cars on finance every 2-3 years or so, then buy another mainly diesel
how will they ever afford an EV
i do have a friend who buys £300 diesel cars as they die he get another
he has 4 on his yard atm robbing parts as he needs them (all passat 1.9tdi,s)

Being forced out of these cheap cars will cause many more people to be unemployed

Forcing people out of town centres will not help shops either

well im sure as time goes by it will sort itself out in maybe 20 years or so

i do fancy an EV for local use but not yet !
and i certainly dare not drive such as a 4x4 Tesla cos i know ill want one

im going to try and count as many Diesel (mint cars) at AITP
as some people think their low mileage diesels will be collectors items one day

im watching in 4 lists at Diesel cars around £20,000 - £60,000
and i must say they sell and are listed as no longer available quite quickly
so many people still love the tdi cars

this EV situation has put me on the back burner for a new car atm
so its all diesel for me and my cars right now

PS Audifin - i live in a bungalow with a massive gated yard so im ok !